


Caleb White and the Seven Misfits

by Snxwwhitx



Series: The Disney Nein [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, but don’t worry there are Plenty of fluffy bits!, hella angst, primarily a widomauk story, the Snow White AU no one asked for!, throwing out the basic tw warning with any story related to Caleb, tw: Trent Ikithon (he is a trigger warning in and of himself), tw: fire, tw: mental abuse and maniupluatuon, tw: mentions and memories of rape, tw: murder, tw: physical abuse, tw: sexual assault, tw: torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-16 12:40:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21271202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snxwwhitx/pseuds/Snxwwhitx
Summary: Bren was once a protégée and future arch mage, but when he is forced to run, his life is completely changed. He meets seven of the oddest people, and together they hope to bring down the evil that haunts him.





	1. Chapter 1: The Overture

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a Snow White widomauk AU no one asked for! I hope you all like it!

Bren had lived a charmed childhood, the son of two Zemnian farmers, and an intelligent boy with a promising future. Sure sometimes things were tough, but to a child that didn’t matter, he was happy with his loving family and that was all he needed.

As Bren grew up though, he couldn’t help but wish for more for his life than this simple farmer in the middle of practically nowhere. He wanted power, to be someone. He wanted his name in the History books, so he could be remembered for millenium to come. He had so much potential, but it was just being wasted working in the fields with his father day in and day out. Bren grew accustomed to the fact that, no matter how hard he wished, he would always be a nobody, that he would just follow in his father’s footsteps, never getting to be more, squandering his talents on farming. If he was lucky, maybe he could rise higher than his station and become the local school teacher, but that was really about it. For all intents and purposes he was stuck.

Bren’s luck changed though, when he had just reached his 18th birthday. On that sunny day, fine carriage carrying the symbol of the Cerberus Assembly rode into town. Inside the front one sat the great Archmage, the head of the Cerberus Assembly, Trent Ikathon, scouting for new proteges to bring to his home in Rexxitrum. The Cerberus Assembly had found themselves short a few warmages as they tried to settle some disputes along the border, and, if he was being completely honest, he needed to start training a successor for himself. Ikathon’s style of training was very intense, so he knew he would need to start soon so whoever took over was truly ready to fill his shoes.

All the young adults in the small town who showed any magical promise were put on display for the great Archmage, but only 3 were chosen, a young woman gifted in Enchantment Magic named Astrid, Eudowulf, a young man gifted in necromancy, and Bren, who himself was gifted in Transmutation.

Master Ikathon, as they were directed to address him, welcomed them into his home, to mold them into the perfect machines for the Empires gain.

Master Ikathon was not a good man though he did let others believe such things. He experimented on his students, cutting them open and placing crystals within their skin, to make them strong. He would alter their memories so they wouldn’t remember such atrocities. He made them use their magic against each other, fighting until one fell, leaving the fallen on the floor, barely sparing them even a moment's glance. Losing was a weakness, and weakness needed to be wielded out. He would tell them that if you couldn’t hold your own in battle, that if you were so weak, than you were a waste of his time.

Master Ikathon had taken a special interest in Bren. He would tell him that he reminded him of himself as a child, that he was someone meant to be more, that his power made him superior to others. Ikathon often called Bren to his chambers, to study privately, to advance past his peers.

Bren was not close friends with Astrid or Eudowulf, at least not at the beginning. They were his competition, some annoyance in his way towards greater power. Just a challenge that he must plow through towards victory. But one never plans on the way love changes a person.

Eodowulf was not a gentle man, but he did care about Bren, as much as he could. Love was a weakness though, and Ikathon would not be so willing to share the attention of his favorite pupil. So both of them men were careful to not reveal the nature of their budding relationship. It wasn’t safe, any connections could be used against if, if you were not careful. Bren wanted to be loved though, he missed the warmth of home, of his family, and felt trapped by the encroaching frigid cold of Ikathon’s manor.

Bren was very much Ikathon’s prizes protégée, much to the displeasure of Bren’s peers, Astrid a fiery rage of jealousy, and Eudowulf a mixture of Pride for his lover, and jealousy that it was not him. Astrid was not one to take jealousy easily, and soon Bren would feel the burn of her ire.


	2. Mirror Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bren’s world comes crashing down around him in the aftermath of a terrifying realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For warning everyone here, this is a pretty heavy chapter, like it is about Caleb’s backstory, in this AU. Starting at “When Bren regained his consciousness” and basically until the end of the chapter deals with murder, and fire. 
> 
> I promise the rest of the mighty nein appear next chapter!

Astrid was a dangerous woman. She felt no love towards anyone, and held no allegiances, only working toward her own benefit. She had no problem selling people out, and would often lie about her rivals to get ahead. 

When Astrid saw the strides that Bren was making in the eyes of Master Ikathon, she knew she would have to do something, but what? What could she do to rid herself of him? Bren was weak, Astrid believed that was painfully obvious. Yes he was an intelligent young man, maybe even a prodigy, sure, but if he did not have his magic he was useless. He also let his emotions take control too often, forgetting that was the biggest failure for any soldier. Master Ikathon tried to beat that out of him, but Astrid could tell that he still felt too much, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. 

Astrid knew about Bren and Wulf, not that they did a good job hiding their relationship. Honestly she didn’t even know how they thought they were being sneaky. But how could she use this to take down at least Bren, if not Wulf too? Would it help her get ahead, or would this be better kept as blackmail for later?

If Astrid was being honest with herself, Bren and Wulf would probably get beat as a warning, which while enjoyable, wouldn’t do much to help her move ahead. Bren would quickly recover his spot as Master Ikathon’s favorite, and Astrid would lose her leverage. Not worth it. 

What did he have that she didn’t? She worked just as hard as he did, if not harder. She was more skilled, more vicious, more calculated. She was so much better but Master Ikathon only ever seemed to notice Bren. It was always about Bren. He kept her back, wouldn’t let her have the chance she earned, the chance she deserved! 

Astrid stopped dead in her tracks in front of her mirror, staring intensely at her own reflection. That was it, wasn’t it? Bren was working against her. It was so clear. That had to be the issue here. She wasn’t inadequate, he was making her out to be a fool. It all made sense. It was like Master Ikathon said, He was the only one they could trust. Of course Bren, mr. goody goody perfect Bren, would work to keep her down, to keep her only second best. He wasn’t better than her, he just went out of his way to make her loose. She had to get rid of him then, that was the only way for her to succeed. But how? How would she get rid of him?

That was when the idea hit her. What did Master Ikathon hate even more than a weakling or loser, a traitor, someone who doubted The Master and the empire. She needed to get, or make up, evidence that he doubted Master Ikathon, that his loyalty was fragile at best. She had to make him seem weak, make it like he questioned the Master. A test maybe, a test of loyalty, one she knew he would fail. Yes that had to work. 

•*•*•*•*•

Bren was confused when he was summoned to Master Ikathon’s study, as he had just finished his lessons for the day. But he had learned quickly over his years here that one did not keep the great Archmage waiting, for he was not a patient man. 

Bren cautiously knocked on the study door, waiting until he heard the unmistakable voice of Master Ikathon commanding him to enter. 

He slowly took in the scene around him as he entered. Astrid and Eudowulf were both already there standing on either side of Master Ikathon. Bren began to internally panic. He hadn’t done anything wrong recently, he hadn’t been weak, had cried out in pain when punished, didn’t disobey the Master, so why did it feel like he was on trial. 

“Bren, welcome. I’m sure you are wondering my I summoned you here. I have made my decision on who will be my successor. This is a great honor, and comes with a great weight of responsibility, as you all know, and I have come to the conclusion that you, Bren, have earned this honor. I know you will do great things in this position, you can achieve the power and strength needed. To celebrate this momentous occasion I am allowing all three of you to return home for the weekend, to visit with your families. You can all share this great news of Brens future, and hopefully both of yours as well by his side in the assembly. Go and pack, we will leave at dawn.”

The three students nodded, and Bren made his way to the door, followed by the other two, when Master Ikathon spoke up once more. 

“Astrid, dear, please stay for a moment, I believe we may have something to discuss.”

Bren and Wulf continued out of the room, leaving Astrid to have her conversation with Master Ikathon. Bren could not believe it. He was to be the next head of the Cerberus Assembly, successor to the great Ikathon himself. That was such an honor, Bren didn’t even know how he would begin to explain this all to his parents. A small part of Bren though felt apprehensive. Master Ikathon was not a man who gave such honors without expecting payment, the little voice in his head reminded him. What was he going to want this time, it said, nagging at Bren relentlessly. 

Bren violently shook his head as if that would get rid of the little nervous voice, as if that would stop these feeling of apprehension. He couldn’t think like this. Master Ikathon was a good man, he only wanted to make Bren better, stronger, more powerful. Everything was for Bren’s benefit. Of course it was, everything Master Ikathon did was in Bren’s best interest. 

•*•*•*•*•

Wulf snuck into Bren’s room that night to congratulate him. Bren welcomed him in, waiting until they were sure they were alone to embrace him. He missed this during the frigid lonely days, the warmth of his lover engulfing him. Wulf took his time congratulating his lover, not like their typical trysts, rushed and rough, this was gentle, as if he was savoring Bren. 

When they had had their fun and lay together on Bren’s bed, Wolf’s arm draped lazily around Bren, he piped up quietly, barely heard if not for the silence of the night. 

“Your not going to forget me, right?”

Bren was half asleep, wondering if he heard his lover correctly. 

“What liebling?”

“Well now your going to be the head of the Cerberus Assembly. Are you going to forget me now that your going to be important?”

“You will always have a place in my heart Schatz, you know that. I could never forget you.”

“I know, I just wanted to make sure you remembered that.”

“Don’t worry Wulf, I will need you by my side every step of the way. You hold my heart love.”

“Okay okay, enough mushiness, I need to be more careful what I ask for. “

“That you do liebling. Now we really do need to sleep.” 

Bren carefully placed a kiss of Wulf’s lips, before turning over to go to sleep. Little did Bren know that would be the last time he got to sleep with his lover. 

•*•*•*•*•

Bren had a great time seeing his parents again. He had rarely seen them in the 7 years he had been under the tutelage of Ikathon, so wrapped up in his own success he hadn’t spared much thought about returning home more often, or even if he had, it got shot down quickly by Master Ikathon. Of course he wrote letters to his parents all the time, keeping them up to safe on his progress. His parents were so proud of him though. Their little boy was to be the next head of the Cerberus Assembly, it was more than they could have ever dreamed of. 

They had a large feast, as least a comparatively large one for the small meals his family typically had, to celebrate his success. The best bratwurst and spätzle his parents could afford was cooked up, just like they would do on Holy days. Everything was amazing, just perfect in Bren’s world. But it never stays that way. 

Bren was leaving early the next morning, so he could return in time for classes. Therefore he headed to bed earlier than he would typically would, not long after sunset. He found himself unable to sleep, so he decided to head back into the main room, to sit with his parents a while longer, to enjoy his time with them. He halted in his tracks just outside the room though, hearing his parents speaking, filling his with dread. 

“— just don’t know if this is good for him. We never see him, and he has changed. This is the empires fault, this is that bastard Trents fault, he took our boy from us.”

“I know dear heart, but I don’t know what we should do?”

“I was talking with the other’s parents about different options to get our children back and stop Ikathon.” 

Bren did everything in his power not to just barge in and arrest them, parents or not. He held himself back though, knowing that the Master would want to know about this, he would know the best plan of action. 

•*•*•*•*•

“Well this is shocking news indeed. All three of your parents are traitors, well I suppose it’s lucky I rescued you three before you all were tainted. This is an issue we will have to take care of before it gets out of hand. And my dear protégés, what do you think would be the best way to make sure things do not get out of hand?”

Before Bren could get his answer out, to arrest them of course, Astrid excitedly shouted out. 

“Rip out the roots of the upset master! We must quickly and quietly dispose of them!”

“Very good Astrid, I also appreciate your enthusiasm. We must rip out the roots. Your parents are traitors of the empire now, you must kill them before they can spread words of rebellion. This is a final test for you all before you can officially become warmages. It is the perfect test of your loyalty to our cause. You will have 3 days to prep and complete the job. You are dismissed.”

He wanted them to kill their parents… he wanted them to kill their parents. Oh my god, this couldn’t be happening. Bren had never had much of a reason to doubt Master Ikathon, but he definitely was now. He understood arresting them, but killing, why would they? Why would he want to kill them, they are farmers, they are harmless. 

‘If he gets rid of them then he has you all to himself Bren, you will have no one else other than him.” The voice that plagued Bren’s inner most thoughts shot back. ‘They are a threat to him because of you.’

No that couldn’t be right. Master Ikathon had to have a reason, right, a bigger explanation. He just had too. 

•*•*•*•*•

These thoughts kept battering Bren as they travelled once again to their homes. Bren felt like he had to say something, to get these doubts out in the open and see if he was the only one. Before he could stop himself he quietly asked them the question that had been bugging him. 

“Is this the right thing to do? Isn’t it extreme?”

There he had said it, it was out in the open. He watched as Astrid and Eudowulf turned to look at him, both like he had just said he was the king of the empire, like he was crazy.

“Don’t tell me your going weak Bren, how many times have we done this before.” Wulf said, looking at him with concern. 

“Of course it’s extreme, and no it may not be the right thing to do, but Master Ikathontold us to, so we’re going to do it. It doesn’t matter what you think Bren, I thought you would have realized that by now. We are here to do what Master Ikathon commands, until it is our turn to be in charge, our job isn’t to think or to question his commands. You should know that.” 

“But these are our parents, we can’t just follow him blindly Astrid, not in this. There has to be more than we realize, we should investigate, bring Master Ikathon our findings—“

“Bren your starting to sound traitorous, and you know what we do to traitors.”

“But maybe Master Ikathon was being to h—“

“I’m going to pretend like I didn’t just hear that Bren, I’m trying really hard to not kill you right now. Master is always right in his judgements.”

“But what if he isn’t! What if he’s wrong!”

“Bren! This is enough! I suggest that you stop this infantile behavior and do what you have been commanded by Master Ikathon!”

Bren felt the enchantment magic was over him, and tried to fight it off, but he was unable to, his head was not in the right space, and he felt the magic take over him. 

•*•*•*•*•

When Bren regained his conscious all he saw in front of him was the melting face of his mother, his house engulfed in flames. 

No, no no no! No! 

“MUTTER!! VATER! NEIN!!! What did you do! ASTRID WHAT DID YOU DO!!” 

Bren looked wildly around him. He needed water, water, a lot of water! He needed to stop the fire!

Bren stopped when he heard Wulf call his name, cutting through his mind’s fog clear as day.

“BREN! WATCH OUT!”

Bren turned around, Astrid coming into his vision, a knife in hand, approaching him. 

“I wonder what The Master will day when he found that his precious protege perished at the hands of his own fire. So foolish he was, wasn’t he Bren.”

“BREN! I WILL HOLD HER OFF, YOU NEED TO RUN! GO!”

Bren was on autopilot at this point, and followed Wulf’s orders, running towards the forest, hoping to find a place to hide. He bit back a sob and the urge to turn around when he heard the agonizing scream of his lover and the deafening thud as his body must have fallen to the ground. The horrid manic cackling of Astrid was what drove Bren forward. He had to escape, to get away. He couldn’t stop, couldn’t go back. 

“Run little Bren! Run as far as you like! I will find you! I will always find you! You will never escape this fate! I will kill you just like I killed Eudowulf, just like you killed your Parents! I will end you!”

Warm tears ran down his face as he ran, trying to escape. He needed to get away, he couldn’t think right now, he couldn’t stop, all he knew at this point was that he had to run. 

Bren didn’t know how long he ran for, or even where he was within the forest, which was an odd, disorienting feeling to him, as he always knew the time and his location, but he couldn’t tell anything right now, his mind was a fog cloud, he couldn’t think of anything. He kept running until he eventually collapsed on the forest ground. He was trying to find a place to hide, but he couldn’t do it anymore, his whole body aching, his lungs burning, yet his mind was completely blank. He couldn’t think, he wasn’t even entirely aware if he was really breathing at this point. He couldn’t tell what was real or not anymore, he couldn’t tell what was happening to him. All he knew was that the world was going dark around him as he lost consciousness on the cold forest floor.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave kudos and comment if you like it!


End file.
